Wanted to post my hemmorroidectomy surgery recovery time line to maybe give others hope!
Start off by saying I’m 30 year old female I had three grade 3 hemmies removed. I was prescribed hydrocodone with acetaminophen, and Toradol and that’s it. I was instructed to take MiraLAX and Colace I am unable to take fiber supplements due to my Gastroparesis.
Surgery day: surgery took an hour and a half and honestly the worst part was waking up from anesthesia I had quite a bit of nausea and they ended up having to give me Zofran. Passed back out for an hour and woke up feeling fine and was discharged.
Around 11:30 I woke up needing to pee and was unable to “self void” as they call it. I tried soaking in a bath as well as standing in the shower and nothing worked as the pressure got worse I was advised to go to the emergency room. At the emergency room they ended up putting in a Foley catheter and released about 780 ML of urine. They wanted to send me home with the Foley catheter and have me follow up with a urologist in a week or two but, I’m not sure if they put it in wrong or if I needed a smaller size, but the pain was so severe I had them remove it. The ER doc at the time really did not want me to do so and told me that if I did not keep the foley in that I would have to be me admitted back into the hospital and straight cathed every 4-6 hours which I told them go ahead because there was no way I was doing the foley again.
Day 2 at this point I didn’t get a room and admitted into the actual hospital until 5 in the morning. They started me on Flowmax which was supposed to release the muscles of the bladder neck. They also did indeed straight cathe me after scanning my bladder and each time I had at least 500 ml. At this point I still had no pain in my rectum area, the doctor said he used two string numbing agents and it shouldn’t wear off yet (and it hadn’t) I could touch the area and feel nothing.
Day 3 still not able to self void at this point the doctors think maybe that because I’m backed up and still haven’t had a bowel movement that’s why I am unable to urinate in my own. They increase the MiraLAX to two times a day as well as the Flowmax being increased to twice a day as well as the colace pill. Pain is starting to be maybe a 4/10 so I take oxycodone because that is what the hospital approved even though I was sent home with hydrocodone. I took it twice in the day and it kept pain pretty much 0/10
Day four: still unable to self void. Still getting straight cathed every 5-6 hours. At this point still no bowel movement as well so they gave me Lactulose which tastes straight like sugar but I guess is a stronger laxative and within four hours I had bowel movements for the next 4 hours. This was probably the most pain I felt with still the pain only being at 6/10. I wasn’t able to have sitz bathes while in hospital but I would go in the shower and put a towel down soaked with hot water and sit on it and it actually did help. I was finally released from the hospital this day without being able to self void. A urologist was called in and she taught me how to straight cath myself and I was sent home with about 20 straight cath kits.
Day five: pain about 3/10 while taking my toradol every 6 ish hours. Still having bowel movement and finally a breakthrough with self voiding but only if I’m squatting in the shower with the hot water running on my bladder. Only had to self cath myself once at home.
Day 6: finally able to self void in the toilet like normal and pain 2/10 really just discomfort not so much pain. Just taking anti inflammatories at this point and not needing pain medication. Still taking the Flowmax and miralax twice a day as well as the Loactulose as needed
Today is day 7 and honestly I never got the pain that a lot of people talk about after this surgery I never even got to a 9/10 on the pain scale. I may have had a few 8/10 but it was easily subsided with medication. I’m not sure if that had to with my surgeon’s technique or the level of hemorrhoids I had, or exactly what it was, but since day one I have walked every single day and done chores as normal (even took laps around the hospital when I was stuck there). The worst part for me was not being able to self void on my own and my anxiety telling me it would never get better lol. But for those who read all the horror stories of the pain, there is hope if you need the surgery and not every experience is insanely painful!